Keep battling those winter blues with exciting new titles from Topic.
Blackport, Season 1
ICELAND
First 3 episodes available on February 2, new episodes Thursday in February and March
Iceland may seem like the paragon of peace, but in this series, economic turmoil has the country on the verge of collapse. Inflation has hit a record 70% and the banks are about to go bankrupt. A general strike is sweeping the country and desperation is encroaching on a small fishing village in the West Fjords. With a population of only 1000, several people in the village band together to ensure its survival. Though the two couples and the mayor claim to have the same goals, they become embroiled in jealousy and greed, obscuring their mutual desires. According to Collider, “Like Succession and Yellowstone, the characters are charismatic enough for us to root for them while despising their every little attitude.”
Catch Me Daddy
UNITED KINGDOM
Coming to Topic: February 9
This title is currently only available in the United States.
Should you always try to save the ones you love? A young Pakistani woman runs away with her drifter boyfriend, but that’s only the beginning of the twisted drama at the heart of Catch Me Daddy. When Laila’s brother, his friends, and two thugs break into their caravan in an attempt to get Laila back, something goes horribly awry and there is blood on everyone’s hands. The violence escalates from there as one of the boyfriend’s family members is kidnapped. A bloody denouement raises questions about how much Laila’s father was willing to risk to bring her back.
Helsinki Syndrome
FINLAND
All episodes available on February 16
How far would you go to make sure your story gets told? In this thriller, the financial stress of the pandemic makes a man confront his anger about a decades-old secret. Elias Karo seems like a normal family man: until he takes four journalists hostage, saying he’ll keep them in captivity until they agree to tell his family’s story. Thirty years ago, city officials took his family’s possessions in the midst of a banking crisis. The government got away scot-free, while Elias’s father succumbed to suicide. The public begins to support his scheme, fearing the human effects of another major crisis amidst the pandemic. But Elias has more trouble up his sleeve: his end goal involves a plot to redistribute the money that the people of Helsinki lost in the banking crisis in the wake of the financial toll of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Polytechnique
CANADA
Coming to Topic: February 23
In 1989, fourteen female engineering students were murdered in what came to be known as the Montreal Massacre. This film brings the tragedy to life in a stirring adaptation that doesn’t shy away from depicting the gendered elements of the killings. A young man entered a classroom with a rifle and ordered the male students to leave, then proceeded to kill the remaining female students. The director, Denis Villeneuve, is known for fan favorites Dune and Blade Runner 2049. Topic superfans may recognize Karine Vanasse from Aprés.
Viewer favorite The Killing Season 2 is arriving with English dubbing on February 2nd. Watch the Nordic Noir crime-thriller unfold in English this time around, but remember, we’ll always have the original subtitles.
More February announcements to come! Check to see if your old favorites are newly released in English.
